New Jersey Devils 2009 Prospect Development Camp Ends with Intense Game

by John Fischer on Jul 18, 2009 2:09 PM EDT in Prospects - Devils & Otherwise

I just got back from ~~the Rock~~ AmeriHealth Pavillion, where the Devils ended their prospect development camp with a scrimmage today. Truth be told, I got there at about 8:45 AM and there were already about 20 people already there waiting. While fans didn't fill the entire bleacher sections at the practice rink, a significant crowd appeared for the free Saturday morning event. Pretty impressive given that the Devils just announced this yesterday morning!

It was a smart move to open up the last scrimmage to the public because everyone on the ice gave a strong effort. With it being the end of prospect camp, nearly everyone wanted to make a strong final impression in front of Lou (of course he was there!) and the coaches present. It was so intense, that in a first period fight between Ashton Bernard and Harry Young, Bernard actually ripped and tore Young's jersey! I don't comment much on fights as I think they're stupid, but this was particularly impressive - I never saw such a thing before. A perfect picture of the energy levels of some of the prospects!

Harry_young_jersey_torn_medium

The scrimmage itself was a very up-tempo affair, with an emphasis on constantly attacking. The moment there was a turnover, the team who won it was simply flying ahead. Needless to say, with a total of 77 shots on net, neither sides' defense really did well. That said, it was an exciting game, every player hustled, and the fans had every reason to be appreciative. The Black team won the game 4-3 due to a penalty shot goal by David McIntyre. Instead of penalties, the scrimmage punished illegal play with a penalty shot. Here's a still of the move that beat Frazee for the game winning goal. (I apologize for the poor quality of this one in particular).

Winning_goal_pk2_medium

I've taken some pictures of the game itself, which I'll mostly upload tomorrow. In any case, thoughts on certain players come after the jump.

A few players in the scrimmage, in my opinion, really stood out on both teams. First and foremost is Mattias Tedenby, who wore #62 for the White team today. While he didn't score a goal, I can easily see why some Devils fans are drooling over the prospect. He was in near-constant motion and in a game where everyone was hustling, no one could catch Tedenby when he turned on the engine. Tedenby played with a great level of confidence, took guys on one-on-one, dazzled the crowd with his stickwork, and definitely warranted your attention every time he was out on the ice. The only knock I can say about him from today was that some of his passes were just not smart. Then again, He's still got a contract with HV71, but I can see why some want him in a Devils uniform right now!

With respect to the Black team, I felt Rod Pelley (#10), Jacob Josefson (#60), and Matt Halischuk (#50) were all equally impressive and the best on that side of the ice. Between the two sides, I'd say the Black team were the better team at maintaining offensive possession and controlling the puck. A lot of that has to do with the work of these three. They kept pressing on the puck, they crashed the net when necessary (and in Pelley's case, crashed into the net on one occasion in the third period), their passing was fairly solid, and they were able to pour on the offensive pressure at times. They weren't the "stars" of today, but they played very well. We'll definitely see Pelley in New Jersey, and this has to be good signs for Halischuk's chances. Josefson will go back Djurgarden for another season, but I'm looking forward to seeing him come over after then.

There were a few surprises in the scrimmage in terms of who stood out. While Tedenby, Pelley, Josefson, and Halischuk did well - they are among the top prospects in the system. In terms of those "under the radar," I'd have to credit Eric Castonguay (#46, Black), Derek Rodwell (#66, White), and Alexander Urbom (#41, White).

Castonguay played mainly in Trenton last season, but he definitely showed off his skill set today. He not only hung on the top lines on the Black team, but was especially noticible on the forecheck and in going to the net. He scored a lovely goal to finish off a massive clearing miscue from the White team. He earned that one, fair play to him. He got a couple of games with Lowell on a call-up basis in his last two years of pro hockey. I wonder if this will be the year he sticks in Lowell?

Rodwell was the Devils' fifth round pick in this recent draft, but he played like he should have gone much higher. Next to Tedenby, Rodwell was constantly charging up ice on offensive rushes and in battling for the puck. I didn't realize he was that agile! He took some physical play well without having it throw off his game. Rodwell drew a penalty in the second period and scored on the ensuing penalty shot, giving him a goal for the day. North Dakota fans, I think you're going to like this guy - a lot.

Lastly among the surprises, there's Urbom. Given that the descriptions I read about him project him to be a defensive, physical defenseman, I was pleasantly surprised with how mobile he was on the ice. Definitely not a slow, plodding defense-only player. He nailed some long passes up ice, pinched in a few times, and threw some nice hits. I'm not really sure where Urbom is heading next season, but he has been called into the Sweden development camp for their U-20 team with Josefson and Tedenby, per Matt Gelb. Wherever he ends up, how he develops will certainly be of interest.

With what I saw of Jeff Frazee, I think he will be fine in Lowell. He had decent lateral movement and did well to get in front of the puck. I wouldn't say he had a great day, but he wasn't poor either. If I'm not mistaken, he switched up between the two teams - but it's hard to be sure since none of the goalies had numbers.

Of course, this is all based on just one scrimmage. So I wouldn't take all of this to mean that these players were the only ones who did well in the Devils prospect development camp this summer. Still, it was an entertaining game , so thanks to the players for that; and I thank the Devils organization for opening it up to the public. At the conclusion of the scrimmage everyone shook everyone's hand and so ends the 2009 prospect development camp for the New Jersey Devils. Now, the dog days of the offseason are upon us.

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Camp

Looked like an entertaining game. Looking good for the future I would say. Can’t wait!

by LetsGoDevils on Jul 18, 2009 3:22 PM EDT reply actions

Eric Castonguay, Beginning YOur Career in Trenton is NOT a Sin.

“Castonguay played mainly in Trenton last season, but he definitely showed off his skill set today.”

Playing in Trenton is not a sin and any Trenton Devil should take that as a slap in the face comment. Matt Cohen would’ve been at this camp if not for a summer job and Lou understands that commitment. Also, Trevor Kell is still rehabing from an injury. More T Devs would’ve been here and Nathan Perkovich showed his ability in the corners with his 6’5 frame. Also, another T Devil..soon to be Lowell, Kevin Cormier scored and he is perceived as a goon. Did you ever think that Castonguay, Kell, Cormier and Cohen are under contract with Lowell were put in Trento to get the QUALITY ice time they needed? They played in Trenton because the Devils still skated some player in Lowell that were finishing up their AHL contracts. They did not rush these players and don’t think for one second that Eric can’t excel at the AHL level. IN fact he was open a few times and the puck was not feed to him. CASTONGUAY IS NO JOKE and his Trenton days served him well. Unlike Brad Snettsinger who has an attiude problem and had a horrid playoff.

It was a great time and I only hope people who always complain about not seeing our youth and practices were there.

As soon as you walked in the door (and when you leaving) the Devs PR Dept. (Thanks Mike Levine) had
“2009/10 NJD Rookie Camp” booklet’s that gave all information about the kids playing (no pics) and 8×10 NJD 2008/09 Team Photos. You could take as many as you like. I have tunz so if anyone wants to trade let me know.

NOTE: Instead of calling penalties as 2 min minors, they called penalty shots. This may have been done for the fans in the stands. Two penalty shots, two goals. Also the Devils pulled down the curtains over the street level windows.

Tedenby is very, VERY fast and has great puck handling skills, especially in close. Josefson was all over the ice in every zone and he is a true playmaker with defensive responsibility. Josefson centered Halischuk and Eric Castonguay. This was without a doubt the best line on the black team and it was a complete line: playmaker, sniper (EC) and power forward (with major skills) Matt Halischuk. That line combined for the prettiest goal of the day (fourth of the game).

Eric Castonguay really stood out with his skating and his backchecking. Eric has officially graduated from Trenton to Lowell (as well as Kevin Cormier who will take LeBlon’ds role in Lowell. Patrice Cormier should be in Lowell this year as well).

Michael Swift (Lowell center) showed some toughness today for a guy his size and not usually his role which is a play making center.

Rod Pelley did his thing and was solid. He was great in the last minute on the black team to close out the win.

Jeff Frazee: I really love the kid, but he did have a rough week. He was beaten on both penalty shots: One squeezed through his pads (four hole) and the other he committed first paddle (waffle) down. Jeff did a good job of looking through screens, one NCI glove save while standing up. However he showed his weakness which is rebound control. Overall, I am not worried about him.

Nathan Perkovich: Lowell or Trenton (more likely) this year really used his 6’5 frame very well in the corners.

The first period fight was pretty interesting between Henry Young and Ashton Bernard. Now Young is a strong kid and THREE TIMES Bernard took him up and threw him heavily into the boards. It was a true sign of strength, the kid is a beast. The acoustics of the practice rink is amazing and the hits truly rattle through the building. The game started with Felice and Long in net (each goalie took a period off), the pace was very high tempo. Maybe the pace had something to do with the 7-2 score the day before and/or fans in the stands, but it was an electric atmosphere.

In the third (from what I saw, maybe someone has a different take) it did look like LeBlond took a run at Frazee, which started a scuffle with Leblond exchanging words with the white team bench and Leblond. At the end Kevin Cormier started really yelling at Leblond to get a hold of himself. I am not a huge fan of Leblond at all and I personally wished Kevin kicked his ass (Kevin DOES have that ability).

Stevens and “The Stalker” Tommy Albeline coach the white and Johnny Mac and Lappy coached black.
It was really cool to see Lou in his NJD warm up ice gear. David Conte sat upstairs as well.

Everyone signed, special thanks to Scott Stevens. I spoke with Matt Loughlin, Brylin, Johnny Mac, Lou, T-Bone..so many. Mike Levine and he stated that more practices maybe open to the public (which is a clear sign that it might have been a Sutter decision not to open practices). Although the Devils rarely give out info, I did ask Levine if the Lowell Devils would play a pre season game at the practice rink and he said, “Nothing is on the schedule right now, but you never know.” Again, thanks to that piece of shit Ed Snider moving the Phantoms (hate the Phantoms but it takes out two local Lowell Devils visits to the area)it might be hard to get an AHL team to come to Newark.

By the way, Doug Clarkson (David’s brother) looks a lot like Cam Janssen.

Here is the scoring as best as I could tell.

First Period
1. Black team: Tyler Eckford from LeBlond (on Charles Long)

Second Period
2. White Team: Kevin Cormier (down low scramble, could not tell who got the assist, if any) .Scored on Frazee
3. Black team: Matt Halischuk assisted from Josefson. Scored on Anthony Felice
4. Black Team: Eric Castonguay assisted by Halischuk and (possibly) Josefson. Scored on Felice

Third Period:
1. Black Team: Derek Rodwell (PENATLY SHOT) on Frazee
2. White Team: Vladimir Zharkov (tipped a slap shot home, assist not to sure who) Scored on Long
3. Black Team: David McIntyre (PENATLY SHOT, GWG) on Frazee

Bottom line it was a truly amazing day, especially for the fans interested in ALL DEVILS player, not just the big team. The practice facility is an amazing place to watch a game.

There is no better place to spend a Summer morning (anything) and I hope the Devils do this again next year.

"It's not just about stopping their shots. It's about breaking their confidence level." - Martin Brodeur.

by VivaSaintMartin30 on Jul 19, 2009 7:19 PM EDT reply actions

Rodwell was skating on the White team, other than that, there’s your scoring summary.

I don’t think starting off the ECHL is a sin as it were; that really wasn’t my intent. Though, if he can’t crack Lowell for a third straight season, then you have to wonder when he can make the leap.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The Devils SBN Blog

by John Fischer on Jul 19, 2009 8:38 PM EDT up reply actions

“Patrice Cormier should be in Lowell this year as well”

Since Patrice is only 19 this upcoming season he is ineligible to play for an AHL team. He would either make the jump directly to the NHL (not likely…this is the Devils we are talking about) or he will remain in the QMJHL.

by Q-girl on Jul 20, 2009 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah. While the Devils are currently thin at center, Cormier isn’t the answer anyway. He should and will likely go back to the Q and cap off his major junior career there.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The Devils SBN Blog

by John Fischer on Jul 21, 2009 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I know it may sound insane but i would love the lowell devils and at least one of the other local teams (isles/rangers) move into the izod center. Would be sweet for people to go shopping and catch a cheap hockey game. Plus calling up players to the main squad only takes about a 20 minute drive. I know its a crazy idea but it would give the people who actually care about the development of these players a chance to see them in action. However you could argue it would eat at the Devils ticket sales a little but i cant see it hurting that much if any.

by they can take a player but not the core on Jul 19, 2009 7:38 PM EDT reply actions